Glossary

  • Explicit Meaning: the meaning that the historical source displays easily, you don't really have to think too hard about it to extract this meaning.

  • Implicit Meaning: This is the meaning that the source does not show easily. You need to 'read between the lines' in order to understand or extract this information/meaning from the source. To get this meaning takes in-depth analysis and often a sound understanding of the topic and other sources relating to the topic.

  • Relevance: Where something has a direct relationship to the issue/event being studied

  • Reliability: The believability of a source and the capability of being relied on to give accurate information.

  • Representativeness: the way a source represents or shows a person's or group's view on a subject. For example, the view being analysed might not be a mainstream view on a subject, it may be an extremist view.

  • Corroboration: The way in which a source supports another source or group of sources, and as a result adds to its reliability.

  • Perspective: a certain opinion or viewpoint on a particular subject or issue

  • Bias: A biased source favours one side of an issue or gives a partisan view of an event. However, such sources may still be of use to historians as it can give a clearer understanding of what people actually thought and did.

  • Primary/Secondary Source(s): Primary sources are sources produced at the time of the event, while Secondary sources are produced afterwards. Primary sources give a more accurate account of the event despite potentially displaying bias. Secondary Sources are still important as they may well have come from an expert in the field/discipline being studied. But Secondary Sources are removed in time and space from the actual event and therefore can sometimes be less accurate in reflecting the historical event in question.